Alabama

Tennessee Titans running back Bishop Sankey gets into the end zone past Atlanta Falcons defenders Pat Angerer, left, and Kemal Ishmael during the fourth quarter for a 22-17 lead in an NFL preseason football game Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014, in Atlanta. The Titans scored on a 2-point conversion, and won 24-17. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal Constitution, Curtis Compton)

The Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons 24-17 Saturday night at the Georgia Dome to improve to 2-1 in the 2014 NFL preseason. Here are five things of note from the game:

1. Jake Locker sharp again

A week after going 8-for-11 for 75 yards and a touchdown in a 31-24 loss to New Orleans, the Titans' starting quarterback had another excellent outing on Saturday.

Jake Locker went 12-for-17 for 188 yards and a touchdown, a 63-yarder to Nate Washington in the second quarter. The former first-round pick earlier made a fine throw across the field on an 18-yarder to Kendall Wright.

"I thought it went pretty well," Locker told The Tennessean. "We didn't move the ball early as well as we would have liked but found our rhythm there late in the first half. We responded well and gave us a chance to stay in the game."

Locker played the entire first half and one series in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Zach Mettenburger, a rookie out of LSU, went the rest of the way and was 11 of 19 for 148 yards.

2. First-team defense gets burned again

The Titans' defense struggled in the first half Saturday, allowing all 17 Atlanta points before halftime.

Both touchdowns came on long pass plays by Falcons starter Matt Ryan, 31 yards to Devin Hester and 52 yards to Julio Jones. The porous secondary left Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt fuming.

"I was upset," Whisenhunt told the Tennessean. "We started off the game playing too tentative. To give up slants on first down and let them run all the way down the field on us, I was upset about that."

The Tennessee defense made a couple of strong stands later, including stopping Atlanta running back Jacquizz Rogers on fourth-and-1 late in the second quarter. The Titans also stopped a last-ditch Falcons drive at the 4-yard line with 1:08 to play.

3. Sankey the workhorse at running back

Though he is technically listed third on the Titans' depth chart, rookie Bishop Sankey got the majority of work in the running game on Saturday.

The second-round pick out of Washington ran for 44 yards on 16 carries, including the go-ahead 3-yard score with 5:45 to play. Sankey was the first running back drafted this past May, No. 54 overall.

Kickers Maikon Bonani and Travis Coons combined for three field goals for Tennessee, with Bonani connecting from 51 yards in the third quarter and 44 yards in the second.

Bonani, who signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of South Florida last season but did not make the team, was well short on a 63-yard attempt as the first half expired.

Coons, a rookie out of Washington, hit a 39-yarder in the third quarter. Bonani and Coons are competing to replace long-time Titans kicker Rob Bironas, who was released in a salary cap-driven move in April.

5. No turnovers this time

A week after losing five turnovers (four fumbles and an interception), the Titans played a mostly clean game on Saturday.

Tennessee did not throw an interception and not only did not lose a fumble, but did not fumble at all. The offensive line did allow three sacks, two in the first half.

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The Titans finish the preseason Thursday at home against the Minnesota Vikings.